Tackling the Problem

Given the extensiveness of the wide-reaching freight infrastructure that creates much of the diesel pollution problem, it’s no surprise that the solutions are equally diverse. In order to achieve cleaner skies and cleaner communities, solutions range from changing individual driver behavior to reduce truck idling, to technological fixes like upgrading vehicles to alternatives like natural gas, to changing the regulations, laws, and planning decisions that shape so much of the freight infrastructure.

Led by the voices of those most impacted by diesel, and shaped by research and technical assistance from other environmental health partners, the Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaborative understandings that communities will only be unburdened from diesel pollution by taking a broad approach to the problem. For example:

For too long communities have been burdened by trucks that idle near ports and in residential communities as drivers rest and wait for repairs. In response, the DDDC developed anti-idling materials for use by community advocates to educate drivers to shut down their rigs. We also pushed for the passage and enforcement of an anti-idling law.

Emissions standards for all kinds of diesel vehicles are set by the State of California’s Air Resources Board. The DDDC has worked hard to push the Board to adopt strong, health-protective standards.

Freight infrastructure and the associated pollution doesn’t end up in certain communities by accident, but are shaped by planning and land use decisions. That’s why the Collaborative has worked with state and regional agencies to make sure that planning first and foremost protects the health and quality of life of the most burdened communities. Click below for letters that DDDC has sent to various agencies demonstrating our engagement in various planning process (to save the PDF, right click on the link and choose "Save Link As"):

To learn more about the massive system that creates diesel pollution, read “Snapshot: A Toy Story”. For more information about the Collaborative’s past success, check out our history. For an overview of our current work and for how to get involved, click here.

“Those eleven board members will vote, and they’ll approve regulations that will in the coming months and years mean less pollution in our communities. Less asthma attacks for kids out playing. Less black soot on window sills. Less cancer risk.”